Blog Post

Tree Troll

“I love this sculpture by Kim Beaton. It would be perfect for a backyard garden or (if studier) a children’s playground. She built it in 2006 with the help of 25 volunteers. What does it mean? Beaton explained in an interview:

The Tree Troll is a portrait of my Dad, Hezzie Strombo. He was a lumberjack in Montana for most of our lives. He had died a few months prior at 80 years old. On June 2nd, at 3am, I woke from a dream with a clear vision burning in my mind. The image of my dad, old, withered and ancient, transformed into one of the great trees, sitting quietly in a forest. I leaped from my bed, grabbed some clay and sculpted like my mind was on fire. In 40 minutes I had a rough sculpture that said what it needed to. The next morning I began making phone calls, telling my friends that in 6 days time we would begin on a new large piece. The next 6 days, I got materials and made more calls. On June 8th we began, and 15 days later we were done. I have never in my life been so driven to finish a piece.” SOURCE